Social and Political

RFL/RE – France’s foreign minister has accused Iran of trying to create an “axis” of military and political influence stretching from Tehran through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea. Speaking in an interview with France 2 television broadcast on December 12, Jean-Yves Le Drian said that rather than pursue ambitions to expand its military presence in the region, …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s southeastern province of Kerman was hit by multiple strong quakes on Tuesday and Wednesday, injuring at least 18 people and damaging some 20 houses, state media reported. The first quake of magnitude 5.9 struck on Tuesday morning 35 miles (56 km) north of Kerman, a city with a population of more than 820,000. The tremor, initially reported …

VOA — Congress will allow the deadline on reimposing sanctions on Iran to pass this week, congressional and White House aides said Tuesday, leaving a pact between world powers and Tehran intact at least temporarily. In October, Trump declined to certify that Iran was complying with the nuclear agreement reached among Tehran, the United States and others in 2015. His …

Al-Monitor – Ahead of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) ministerial meeting in Vienna Nov. 30-Dec. 1, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh expressed hope that production cuts that were agreed to last year would be extended. What was at stake, however, was more than energy markets. Zanganeh and his counterparts, including Qataris, Saudis and Emiratis, met amid …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s former Central Bank head Mahmoud Bahmani, reacting to Iranian-Turkish tycoon Reza Zarrab’s recent statements in a US court, says he never met with Zarrab. In his testimony in a New York trial, Zarrab, who was arrested in the United States on March 19, 2016, explained how he helped Iran bypass US sanctions. He said he had meetings …

PayvandNews – A new revenue generating measure in President Hassan Rouhani’s proposed budget has led to public outcry and mocking of the government in Iran. “Exit fees” from the country are set to rise many fold, if the new budget is passed in the coming months. cartoon by Sana Hosseinpour, Ghanoon daily Until now, every Iranian citizen departing the country had to …

PayvandNews – The proposed national budget bill for the next Iranian calendar year 1397, starting on March 21, 2018, has allocated 210 billion rials ($5.25 million) for women’s affairs, an increase of 30 percent year on year. President Hassan Rouhani presented the administration’s draft of the national budget bill for the next year to the Majlis (Iranian parliament) on Sunday. …

PayvandNews – The bill on rights of persons with disabilities, which is being discussed by the Majlis [Iranian Parliament], has raised hopes among the disabled for better living conditions. People with disabilities have a wide range of problems such as finding jobs or living in cities which have not been developed to be accessible for disabled people. Read related article by Ghanoon daily “We …

RFL/RE – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the targets of an investigation in Turkey into suspected bribery and money laundering in connection with a scheme to help Iran evade sanctions, a former Istanbul police officer has testified. The officer, Huseyin Korkmaz, told a New York court on December 11 that the Turkish investigation that he led in 2012-2013 …

RFL/RE – A top Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander has offered Iran’s “complete support” for Palestinian militants in their resistance campaign against U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. General Qassem Soleimani, who oversees the IRGC’s foreign operations branch, made the offer to the Palestinian commanders of Islamic Jihad and the Izz Al-Deen Qassam brigades, …